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Dallas is like a stage prop that is basically trying to "play" like a city. That's why it has to copy and front like its an east coast city. Don't get me wrong, alot of projects and beautification things going on in Dallas, i'd like to see Houston do, But Dallas is all look and no feel.
Dallas's light rail, although an acomplishment, doesn't even adequately serve the area for the amount of lines it has. Houston's dinky, one- horse light rail train gets more ridership and once the other lines are added, those numers will continue to skyrocket. Dallasites will no longer be able to claim that those numbers are skewed saying everything is fed in to one light rail line. Houston's density inside of the loop already speaks for itself.
Houston feels like a city. Dallas may have become more international, but it's spread over the metro in bits and sprinkles so its hardly noticed. In Houston, the international presence is there. Take a drive down Hillcroft, W. Bellaire, Harwin, etc.
I will give Dallas credit where its due, their urban planning they've been doing for the last decade is more modern, in style, and probably "cuter" than what Houston's "anything goes" mentality. That's probably why Dallas is viewed as the more attractive of the two. But all of Dallas is not downtown, take a step outside of downtown and go other parts of the city, you see old crumbling freeways, old buildings, treeless and ugly terrain, and other things people love to bash Houston about. So Dallas is not just "wine". If that's the case, Houston could claim to be all of Uptown, River Oaks, I-10 West, and etc. I mean people in Dallas act like all of Dallas is downtown, North Central Expressway, etc.
As far as R1070's claim, so what? I've had people come to visit Texas and say that Houston is the poppin' city in Texas with the most action and culture. Dallas is more country. It doesn't have as many skyscrapers throughout the city and there's alot of deadspots and undeveloped areas once you step out of downtown. Plus, we had to spend 20-30 minutes just to find a liquor store in Dallas !"
And people can hate on the gulf coast all they want. It may not be the best picturesque beach, but it beats nothing. Just like Dallas's hills are not all that but its still more hilly than what Houston has. I bet people in Austin laugh at Dallas's claim of hills. Anyway as far as Houston goes, having some diverse landscape and some sort of beach is still better than miles of grass and endless prarie.
stoneclaw/C2H
I give this post credit. Although I don't agree with much of it, it is miles ahead of what most of you other Houston posters are posting: random and arrogant comments that have no facts of claim to back them up.
But I will say, some of this post makes it sounds like you haven't seen Dallas in awhile. Like Houston, there are SO many beautiful areas not in the downtown area. Honestly, most of the best areas aren't so don't make these gross generalizations that make much of Dallas sound like some 3rd world country.
Also Dallas is not "country"... a smaller city, yes, but its still a CITY of over a million people. There is a perfectly adequate number of skyscrapers and the city and many of them have more character than the masses of houston. Any highways in North Dallas are lined with them and you really get a big city feel. Not as much as Houston, but the perfect amount for me.
Now of course, DART ridership numbers are really nothing to be proud of, but quite frankly I am happy with the initiative they are taking, something METRO cannot say whatsoever, and I believe in the future will we fully appreciate and understand how DART continues to make our area more dynamic and transit friendly.
The animosity should really stop, we are all Texans here! I at least try and provide facts and dont just say things like Houston sucks! and Houston posters should just give up! Come on. This is not second grade. Fair and thoughtful discussion on topics is totally appreciated, but these degrading and stereotypical comments make this thread look like a total joke.
@MetroMatt- The police brutality post was one of the most pointless posts I have ever seen. I could look up ANY major city on the internet and get disturbing results for police brutality. Actually, on both Youtube and Google, "Houston Police Brutality" generated a lot more results than "Dallas police brutality" (over 60,000 more actually on Google). Although this does not paint the entire picture for Houston, you can not use this as an argument and claim Houston is some utopia in this department.
@HTownLove- although the Houston area does have higher per capita income, no disputing that (although Dallas is still higher in the city), as I have said many times before, Dallas is not as prevalent on these lists of "wealthiest areas" because Dallas DOES NOT incorporate our wealthiest areas into enclaves and cities (except Park Cities). I dont understand why you think this is such a "victory" for Houston when actually it just showcases another difference in the two area's organization.
Responding to some other comments: sure it would be nice to have a port, but we make up for it with a more diverse economy (yours is diversifying, but it is clear ours is more diverse) and our airport. I am sorry that we have the geographic incapacity to not have a port, but actually it is more of a TESTAMENT to Dallas because we are able to sustain ourselves and prosper despite geographic barriers.
Like you guys always say "there is SO much that makes Houston better!"
well I feel the same way for Dallas, and just because y'all (or myself) claim this doesn't make it fact.
First word on the moon though, I'll give yall that one
@HTownLove- although the Houston area does have higher per capita income, no disputing that (although Dallas is still higher in the city), as I have said many times before, Dallas is not as prevalent on these lists of "wealthiest areas" because Dallas DOES NOT incorporate our wealthiest areas into enclaves and cities (except Park Cities). I dont understand why you think this is such a "victory" for Houston when actually it just showcases another difference in the two area's organization.
Like you guys always say "there is SO much that makes Houston better!"
well I feel the same way for Dallas, and just because y'all (or myself) claim this doesn't make it fact.
Lol, it is a victory for Houston because you all always brag that you are more upscale, but you don't have stats to prove it. You always act, like DFW is so high class and Houston is so podunk, when the stats show we out class you
What it shows is that Houston is miles ahead of Dallas
You may not feel the same, but like I keep saying, no one buying Y'alls book
ha ha
Lol, it is a victory for Houston because you all always brag that you are more upscale, but you don't have stats to prove it. You always act, like DFW is so high class and Houston is so podunk, when the stats show we out class you
What it shows is that Houston is miles ahead of Dallas
You may not feel the same, but like I keep saying, no one buying Y'alls book
ha ha
MY book
and no no no no no no no no. I think Houston is very cosmopolitan and CERTAINTY incredibly international, more so than Dallas. I dont think in any way its some hick town. But I have seen many comments about Dallas' pretentiousness and snobbishness which I think is just about as true as calling Houston hickville USA.
But again this data does not set Houston "miles ahead of Dallas" in any way. Ill keep our beautiful inner city neighborhoods anyways. They dont need lists to be appreciated
I am not just saying this to ruffle any feathers, but this has been my experience from various sources: friends, family, visitors, co-workers
I can't count how many times I've heard "oh, I used to hate Texas, but I had only been to Houston before" or "I like Dallas, I could never live in Houston".
When I decided to move to Texas my best friend begged and pleaded with me not to move to Texas. He came to visit me in Dallas and loved it. His first words were "I was expecting another Houston, I could definitely live in Dallas, it's a lot better".
Dallas seems to be more appealing and attractive to people from other places, perhaps thats why media and retailers seem to attract to Dallas more.
I remember a short-lived cop show set in Houston, but shot in Dallas! That must have ruffled a bunch of feathers down there.
On the retail and restaurant fronts, it's been a given for years that when companies are looking to enter the Texas market, they come to Dallas first, and that goes for all price points, high to low. Trader Joe's is on the way. Aldi was here first. When my niece told me she wanted an American Girl doll, I headed to the Galleria, again the exclusive outpost in Texas for them. In-N-Out is expanding as we speak. Yoshinoya Beef Bowl opens soon, again the first location in Texas. Nobu has one location in Texas. Guess where. H&M opened recently. Nordstrom opened its first store in the South in the Galleria. There are two W Hotels in Texas, in Dallas and Austin. I don't know which opened first but I can guess. These are just a few. There are many more.
There are exceptions, of course. Central Market opened in Houston before Dallas, most likely due to its proximity to the HEB headquarters. But while everyone in the Houston metro has to get in their cars to trek to that one location, here in the Dallas Fort Worth area we have four locations to choose from: Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano and Southlake. And a fifth location is in the works, at the old Borders at Royal Lane and Preston Road in Dallas.
I was once in the Dallas location on Lovers Lane before a holiday, always a frenzy. I was chatting up one of the "foodies." She mentioned that Mr. Butt had visited the store earlier. He lives just across the way in Highland Park. Mr. Butt's empire may be concentrated in central and southeast Texas, but he calls HP home.
Not to be outdone, Whole Foods opened a new, flagship location practically a stone's throw from CM, on Greenville Avenue. It is truly a gem, and is busy every single time I've visited it.
There is a lot of talk on here about the "feel" of the cities, which by definition is purely subjective, and opinion. Apparently when nationally known, successful retailers and restaurateurs start crunching the numbers and the demographics, they feel like coming to Dallas first.
I remember a short-lived cop show set in Houston, but shot in Dallas! That must have ruffled a bunch of feathers down there.
On the retail and restaurant fronts, it's been a given for years that when companies are looking to enter the Texas market, they come to Dallas first, and that goes for all price points, high to low. Trader Joe's is on the way. Aldi was here first. When my niece told me she wanted an American Girl doll, I headed to the Galleria, again the exclusive outpost in Texas for them. In-N-Out is expanding as we speak. Yoshinoya Beef Bowl opens soon, again the first location in Texas. Nobu has one location in Texas. Guess where. H&M opened recently. Nordstrom opened its first store in the South in the Galleria. There are two W Hotels in Texas, in Dallas and Austin. I don't know which opened first but I can guess. These are just a few. There are many more.
There are exceptions, of course. Central Market opened in Houston before Dallas, most likely due to its proximity to the HEB headquarters. But while everyone in the Houston metro has to get in their cars to trek to that one location, here in the Dallas Fort Worth area we have four locations to choose from: Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano and Southlake. And a fifth location is in the works, at the old Borders at Royal Lane and Preston Road in Dallas.
I was once in the Dallas location on Park Lane before a holiday, always a frenzy. I was chatting up one of the "foodies." She mentioned that Mr. Butt had visited the store earlier. He lives just across the way in Highland Park. Mr. Butt's empire may be concentrated in central and southeast Texas, but he calls HP home.
Not to be outdone, Whole Foods opened a new, flagship location practically a stone's throw from CM, on Greenville Avenue. It is truly a gem, and is busy every single time I've visited it.
There is a lot of talk on here about the "feel" of the cities, which by definition is purely subjective, and opinion. Apparently when nationally known, successful retailers and restaurateurs start crunching the numbers and the demographics, they feel like coming to Dallas first.
Good post. I'm not sure exactly how this is calculated and determined, but I guess Dallas has a better testing market.
Not to mention Texas' only Nike Town open at NorthPark last month!
The sad thing is a national bestseller would probably be one about Austin
Im pretty sure either of our books would be better than that one!
not debatable at all. My Book will be the Best Seller and I am unanimous on that
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